Stabilizing β-carotene-loaded Pickering emulsion with chitin nanoparticles extracted from insect shells using deep eutectic solvents

With the rapid growth of artificial insect breeding, the management of insect shell waste has emerged as a pressing concern. In this study, insect shells were treated with environmentally friendly deep eutectic solvents (DESs) to yield chitin nanofibers (CNFs) for stabilizing Pickering emulsion. The purity of chitin extracted from Tenebrio molitor shells was 94.89 %, and CNFs with lengths between 100 and 300 nm were produced. This Pickering emulsion was stabilized using CNFs, and its stability was enhanced by optimizing environmental conditions, such as NaCl and pH, allowing for stable storage over a period of 180 days. At a β-carotene of 1.5 mg/g and an oil phase mass fraction of 45 %, the emulsion achieved an encapsulation efficiency of 98.47 ± 0.12 %, with no significant changes observed after 30 days of storage. These findings demonstrate that insect shells can be effectively utilized to stabilize Pickering emulsions and encapsulate bioactive compounds, offering a sustainable strategy for valorizing waste resources.